


I Need You

by sobeys



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-15
Updated: 2013-08-15
Packaged: 2018-03-07 06:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3164141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sobeys/pseuds/sobeys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What I wished happened when Ezra called Aria in 4x10. One-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Need You

**Author's Note:**

> This was written a while back, after season 4 episode 11.

Aria walked down the street, heading for the karate dojo after her little detour to find Cece. She was almost there, where Jake would be preparing his regional championships. Surprisingly, she'd found herself having a good time, despite the smell of sweat in the air and all of the tension from the competitors. She had found herself falling for Jake, when she'd originally started to date him to try to get over Ezra. He was a sweet guy, and he'd been really great to her.

She was just a few buildings away, when she felt a vibration in her pocket. Pulling out her phone, she looked at the screen, and stopped walking, her eyes widening.

Incoming caller: Ezra

After going a month without seeing that name on her screen, it was an understatement to say Aria was surprised, she was shocked. She stared at the screen for a moment, wondering if this was real, if he hadn't just called her accidentally. The sound of a door opening broke her out of her reverie.

"Aria? My match is about to start so..." Jake said.

"Oh, yeah." Aria stumbled on her words. "Um, actually, I'll just be there in a sec, I need to take this." she said, gesturing to the vibrating phone.

Jake nodded and flashed her a smile before heading inside.

Aria now looked at her phone confused. Should she answer it? What if something had happened and Ezra needed her? But, what if he just wanted to talk to her, and he wanted to try and convince her that they could make their relationship work. At this point, she wasn't sure she'd be able to resist him, it had been so hard for her to stay away from him this past month. There were times when she'd want to hang back after class like old times, or just stop by his apartment, but she'd resist, telling herself that what she was doing was for the best, when her heart told her that maybe she was wrong. She knew that if she talked to Ezra, she wouldn't be able to stay away from him and she needed to. Then she thought about how unfair it would be to Jake to be talking to her ex-boyfriend when they were on a date. Still, Aria hesitated before she finally pressed decline.

///

Jake had started his fight, and he was doing really well, having knocked down his opponent once already. As she watched him, she felt another vibration in her pocket. Pulling out her phone, she looked at the screen.

1 New Text from: Ezra

Aria opened up the message to reveal three words that made her heart break.

I need you

Aria thought to all the moments she'd needed Ezra, and each and every time, he'd been there for her. There was that time at the police station when she'd called him and he'd come, not caring about whether or not her parents saw him, or the police arrested him. And there was the time before that, after she and her friends had seen Ian's body in the bell tower. He'd been there for her, even when she hadn't asked him too, even when she'd pushed him away. Thinking back, Aria knew that if she tried, she could name many more times, and now, the one time he needed her, she was sitting here, on a date with someone else.

She couldn't do that to Ezra. As much as she tried to hide it, she loved Ezra more than anyone in the world. Getting up, she headed for the door, then stopped, looking at Jake who was looking back at her with a question in his eyes. He had just finished the second round and was drinking some water. She gave him an apologetic look and motioned that she really needed to leave. He gave her a simple nod and a small smile, showing that he was disappointed but he understood that it must be important. Aria smiled at him and headed out, rushing down the street to the train station.

A few minutes later, the train headed for Rosewood arrived and Aria stepped on it, waiting impatiently as it took her to her destination.

///

Ezra was sitting on his couch with his head in his hands when Aria stepped into his apartment, using the spare key under his mat.

"Hey, what happened?" she asked, immediately coming to his side and leaning over him.

"She...She lied to me." Ezra said, and Aria could tell he'd been crying.

"Who lied to you? About what?" Aria asked.

"Maggie." Ezra whispered.

Aria waited for him to continue, seeing how torn up he was. She sat down next to him and hesitantly lifted her arm to rub his back. It had always helped make him calm, and he looked like he needed it. Aria carefully placed her hand on his back and, when he didn't react, she rubbed circles on his back.

"Malcolm's not mine." he whispered.

At this, Aria's hand froze. "Wait, what?" She was sure he'd heard him wrong.

"Malcolm's not my son." Ezra said again, this time looking up at Aria as he spoke. As she looked into his eyes, Aria could see the pain and loss in them, and that made her feel so guilty for not answering his call earlier.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.

"M-Maggie cheated on me when we were in high school. We'd had a fight and she went to a party and got drunk and..." Ezra covered his face in his hands, trying to muffle his sobs. Aria took his hands in hers and lifted them from his face. She used her thumbs to wipe the tears from his cheeks the way he'd done for her countless times.

"Come here." she said, holding her arms out. Ezra hesitated.

"Ezra, whenever I'm upset, you hold me and you make me feel safe and better, and I want to do the same for you. I love you and I can't see you like this." Aria said, and Ezra leaned closer to her, Aria wrapping her arms around him. She whispered to him that everything would be alright, that they would get through this together, the way that Ezra had always done for her.

After about an hour, Aria looked at the clock and realized it was past midnight. She bit her lip, knowing that she couldn't leave Ezra alone like this but not sure if it would be a good idea for her to stay the night.

"Please stay." Ezra said, and Aria wondered for the millionth time how he always knew what she was thinking.

Aria thought for a moment before she smiled at him and said. "Okay."


End file.
